Kenny Stills sees a lot of growth from Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill

Kenny Stills has played with Ryan Tannehill since 2015 when the Dolphins brought him over in a trade with the Saints. But according to Stills, there’s something different about the Dolphins quarterback this year.

“The leadership and just being more vocal,” Stills said on Wednesday. “You see the confidence in his game. I wasn’t out there last preseason game, but the way he’s delivering the ball, the timing. He looks great. He looks confident. I’m happy to get on the field with him on Saturday.”

In previous six seasons with the Dolphins, Tannehill was more of a reserved leader. But this year, he has openly taken more of a vocal leadership role with his teammates.

During the Dolphins offseason program, Tannehill texted rookie tight end Mike Gesicki at 5:15 a.m. one morning about a “specific release” on a route off the line of scrimmage. Then during a video released on social media, the two were seen talking about how that specific route should be executed.

Then later on during training camp, Tannehill kicked running back Kalen Ballage out of the Dolphins huddle after the rookie missed a blocking assignment during 11-on-11 drills. That missed block led to a Charles Harris sack. Then Tannehill continued to berate Ballage when the two were on the sideline.

A few days after the incident, Tannehill said he was just trying to get the point across to Ballage.

“You don’t want to be an iron fist all the time, at least I don’t,” Tannehill said. “I like to pick my spots like you said, and have a reason for everything that I do. I believe in Kalen. I know the talent that he has. He has every tool that we need him to have – he’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he catches the ball well, he can pass protect. I told Kalen after the fact, I just want him to have more urgency. We want him to help us, I know he can help us; but we have to know what we’re doing when we’re on the field, especially in pass protection. I think he’s picked it up. I think he’s doing a good job of pressing forward and he’s going to help us this year.”

There is definitely something different about Tannehill in 2018. No one knows if that will translate into more victories on the field, but Tannehill is certainly trying to prepare his teammates the best way that he can for the upcoming season.

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